Arundel council considers repeal of cat licensing

Now that the Anne Arundel County Division of Licensing and Enforcement is geared up to enforce a year-old cat-licensing ordinance, the County Council may send the law to the litter box.

Two council members who own unlicensed cats are proposing to repeal the law. In addition, several council members are considering amendments to the councilmen's proposal that would cut the licensing fee for unspayed or unneutered pets from $30 to $15.

The 1994 legislation added cats to the law that required dogs to be licensed. It also increased fees for licensing unspayed and unneutered cats and dogs from $10 to $30.

Councilmen Thomas Redmond of Pasadena and William C. Mulford II of Annapolis, who are proposing to repeal the 1994 law, have argued that the law requires the county to set up the licensing bureaucracy but gains little from it.

In addition, the $30 fee for licensing pets that have not been spayed or neutered is a deterrent to licensing, Mr. Redmond said.

"My office received a couple dozen calls from people who said they were not going to pay $30 to license a dog," he said.

But the SPCA said the 1994 legislation encourages pet owners to spay or neuter their pets because the license fee for neutered pets is only $4.